Smokers are being urged by the region’s fire chiefs to stub out the habit.

In West Yorkshire last year, 176 fires were caused by smoking materials.

Households containing a smoker are nearly 35 per cent more likely to have a fire than those without a smoker. Assistant Chief Fire Officer Craig McIntosh, the brigade’s director of fire safety, said: “More people die in fires caused by smoking than any other source.”

People who smoke are urged not to light up in the bedroom, to use a proper ashtray and never tap ash into a waste basket.